Awards

Juanita

Juanita takes the dove she received for her fourth birthday to the Old Mission Church for the blessing of the animals.

Dounia And The Magic Seeds

Dounia is the story of a little girl who loves her home city of Aleppo, Syria, and its many smells, sights, and traditions. But when war breaks out, Dounia and her grandparents must flee Aleppo to find safety. Before they go, their neighbour reads their future in a cup of coffee, she sees a long difficult journey ahead of the family and a blue house awaiting them at the end. Taking only a bird carved from Aleppo soap and four little barake seeds in her pocket, Dounia faces dangerous waters, a camp surrounded by barbed wire, and unfriendly soldiers, and she wonders where she and her family belong in the world. Remembering the ancient knowledge that barake seeds ward off evil, she pulls one from her pocket to use for each of the threats they face. Magically, the seeds from their faraway home help them along their way, until they finally find the blue house at the end of their journey.

In her new home, Dounia plants her final seed in a pot so it can grow and offer more seeds, while also keeping a piece of Aleppo with her. The baraké seeds represent the Syrian culture. Although Dounia is fleeing her country, she carries with her the strength of her people. It is by tapping into her roots, represented by the seeds, that she finds her own strength and resilience. The magical moments brought about by the baraké seeds can be interpreted as Dounia’s imagination it’s a way of seeing the war and the migration from a six year old’s perspective. Dounia does not understand everything that is going on, but she is not a powerless victim. By using the seeds, she feels she is taking an active part in her own destiny. In the end, whether it is magic or Dounia’s imagination at play, it’s a story about obstacles faced by migrants and about the courage they have in facing these obstacles. As Marya puts it in her article for TBI Magazine, it reverses the common narrative in North American media that Syria is synonymous with devastation and destruction, and that Syrian refugees can only be victims of their circumstance, rather than brave, vibrant heroes who can take charge of their own stories.

Border Crossings

As two ocelots attempt to cross the United States-Mexico border, they face obstacles that drive home the catastrophic effects of a wall on the plants and animals of the border–and the many benefits of keeping the border barrier-free.

Wind

This browsable book explores the wind’s role in our planet and its history, from carrying pollen to shaping sand dunes to pushing record-breaking ships across the ocean.

9 Kilometers (Stories From Latin America)

As a young boy walks nine kilometers to school, he travels through the mountain and rain forest landscapes of southern Chile.

Los Coquíes Aún Cantan: Un Cuento Sobre Hogar, Esperanza Y Reconstrucción (Spanish Edition)

¡Co-quí, co-quí! Los coquíes le cantan a Elena desde el amado árbol de mango de su familia—sus llamadas son tan conocidas que es como si estuvieran cantando, “Estás en casa, estás a salvo.” Pero de repente, su hogar no es tan seguro cuando un huracán atenta con destruir todo lo que Elena conoce. Con el paso del tiempo, Elena, junto a su comunidad, comienza a reconstruir su hogar, sembrando semillas de esperanza en el camino. Cuando los sonidos de los coquíes regresan gradualmente, reflejan la resiliencia y fuerza de Elena, su familia, y sus compatriotas puertorriqueños.

Co-quí, co-quí! The coquí frogs sing to Elena from her family’s beloved mango tree—their calls so familiar that they might as well be singing, “You are home, you are safe.” But home is suddenly not safe when a hurricane threatens to destroy everything that Elena knows. As time passes, Elena, alongside her community, begins to rebuild her home, planting seeds of hope along the way. When the sounds of the coquíes gradually return, they reflect the resilience and strength of Elena, her family, and her fellow Puerto Ricans.

The Coquíes Still Sing: A Story Of Home, Hope, And Rebuilding

A powerful story about home, community, and hope, inspired by the rebuilding of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017, written by debut author Karina González and illustrated by Krystal Quiles.

All Rise: Resistance And Rebellion In South Africa

All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa is a four-part graphic history series. Based on little-known court records, each volume consists of six stories of resistance by marginalized South Africans against colonial and apartheid governments. This first installment, which spans the “Union period” of 1910-48, was researched and written by South African historian Richard Conyngham and each illustrated by a different South African artist. The stories in All Rise combine a variety of universal issues related to justice and human rights with a refreshing narrative medium. By foregrounding “anonymous” protagonists with lesser-known histories, the book breathes new life into a terrain of written history that until now has been dominated by icons.

The Depth Of The Lake And The Height Of The Sky

Without a word, The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky tells the heartfelt and uplifting story of a child’s independent discovery of the natural world. Kim Jihyun cleverly captures excitement, wonder and joy in intricate illustrations using a deceptively simple color palate. This is a beautiful wordless story about allowing ourselves to be present in the moment and see the world afresh.